Tie loaders



April 28, 1970 STANQY ETAL TIE LOADERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 12,1969 a .I..I L

T E m s A mwB TN M Mn Ink II '0 BE MG PATENT AGE April 28, 1970 "M.STANOY ETAL TIE LOADERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 12, 1969 uul JllllalIN VEN TOR S Marl: STANOY Georges .l. BARNETT PATENT AGE A ril 28, 1970M. STANOY ET 3,

' T IE LOADERS Filed Feb. 12, 1969 s Sheets-Sheet s INVENTORS MarkSTANOY Georges J. BARNETT PA TENT AG; NT

United States Patent O Int. Cl. B65 67/12 U.S. Cl. 214--41 10 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tie loading apparatus comprising a carriagehaving a casting mechanism an element of which rotates to engage,accelerate and throw a tie from the carriage, along and off the free endof a pair of extendible slides projecting laterally from said carriage.

The present invention relates to loaders, more specifically to anapparatus especially adapted to load ties or the like into box cars.

To applicants knowledge no suitable, simple apparatus is available forloading rigid, non-flowable material into box cars. Some devices havebeen proposed for this purpose as evidenced by Canadian Patents 414,542,518,596, 559,944, 513,002 and 691,591, but on review of these patents itis immediately apparent that such devices are complicated and cumbersometo operate and therefore would not be suitable for the handling of ties.

It is thus the main object of the present invention to provide a box carloader that is relatively uncomplicated and is specifically adapted forhandling heavy rugged materials that are not easily damaged.

Broadly, the present invention comprises -a carriage movable into andout of a box car, extendible slide means projecting laterally of saidcarriage, casting means mounted on said carriage and positioned toengage an article fed to said carriage, means to actuate said castingmechanism to accelerate and propel said article along said slide meansand off the end of said slide means remote from said carriage.

Further features, objects and advantages will be evident from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of the present invention with partsomitted for clarity of illustration.

FIG. 2 is a section along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial end view of the casting mechanism, illustrating theshape of the beaver tails and the mounting of the slide arms. I

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the layout of the infeed conveyor, castingmechanism and the mounting for the casting mechanism.

. FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating a specific profile for a beavertail for use with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view of another form of slide mechanism.

The apparatus of the present invention comprises five main operatingsections; the live bottom platform 10, the elevator 20, the tie turner30, the infeed conveyor 40 and the casting mechanism 50 which cooperateto load a tie into a box car 100 (shown in phantom lines in FIG. 1

Ties 11 are unloaded onto the platform in any suitable manner,preferably by driving a tram-load of ties past a fixed bumper whichcontacts the ties and prevents same from travelling with the tram. Theplatform 10 has a frame 24 which supports a shaft 18 adjacent theelevator 20 and a second shaft (not shown) at the opposite end of3,508,672 Patented Apr. 28, 1970 the frame 24. On each of said shaftsare mounted spaced sprocket wheels 14 and 16 (only one of each shown)and entrained around these sprocket wheels are a pair of conveyor chains12 which form a conveyor mechanism to deliver ties to the elevator 20.

In the illustrated embodiment, the elevator 20 consists of a frame 26and a pair of conveyor chains 28 and 29 mounted on pairs of sprockets 32and 34 which, in turn, are fixed to shafts 18 and 36. The chains 28 and29 are provided with a plurality of dogs 38 to engage the opposite endsof a tie 11 and lift same up to the turning mechanism 30 and infeedconveyor 40.

As shown, the turning mechanism 30 includes a chain 42 provided withprojections or flights 44 which engage one side of each tie 11. Thechain 42 is mounted on a drive sprocket 46 and a sprocket 48 which iskeyed to the shaft 36. A projection or abutment pin 52 extends above theinfeed conveyor 40 adjacent its infeed end and on the opposite side ofthe infeed conveyor to chain 42. This pin 52 engages and prevents theadvance of one end of a tie, while the opposite end is carried forwardby the conveyor chain 42 whereby the tie is turned and slides intoalignment with the infeed conveyor 40.

The infeed conveyor mechanism 40 in the illustrated embodiment comprisesa belt 58 trained about rollers 60 (only one shown, see FIG. 2) mountedat opposite ends of the conveyor frame 70. Extending upward at an anglefrom opposite sides of the belt 58 are inclined slides 62 and 64 whichaid in completing the turning of the ties and ensure that the ties arealigned on the belt 58, These slides 62 and 64 have been shown asextending the full length of the conveyor 58 but may be substantiallyshortened and need only extend slightly past the turning mechanism 40.An idle roller 66 mounted on suitable frame member 68 projecting abovethe conveyor 40 adjacent the end of the conveyor 40 nearest the car 100contacts the upper surface of a tie and prevents same from tippingdownwardly off the end of the conveyor until it clears the roller. Theroller may in many cases be omitted.

The conveyor 40, turning mechanism 30, and one end of the elevator 20are mounted on a suitable frame 70 which in turn is mounted onextendible posts 72 (four shown). ,Slung beneath the frame 70 bysuitable support means are a drive motor 74 and speed reducer 76 thatpower the conveyor 12, the elevator 20, the turning mechanism 30 and theinfeed conveyor 40, in a manner to be described hereinbelow.

The speed reducer 76 drives a sprocket 78 which drives shaft 80 viachain 82 and a sprocket (not shown) keyed to this shaft. Also keyed tothe shaft 80 is thesprocket 46 forming part of the turning mechanism 30and operating to drive the chain 42. Chain 42 in turn, through sprocket48, drives shaft 36 and therebysprockets 34 and 32. The chains 28 and 29deliver power to the other sprockets 32 and 34 connected to the shaft 18and this shaft in turn, through sprockets 14 and 16 drives the conveyorchain 12. Conveyor belt 58 is driven via sprocket and chain 92 whichchain 92 is trained about a second sprocket (not shown) keyed to theshaft 80. Other suitable drive means such as individual hydraulic orelectric motors may be used if desired.

On the opposite side of the car 100, from the above describedmechanisms, is a platform 101 supported on suitable extendible pillers102 (only two shown). The platform 101 has a pair of side rails 104 and106 that slideably engage channel members 108 and 110 which suspend thecasting mechanism 50 (as shown in FIG. 3). The side rails 104 and 106each have a substantially horizontal bottom flange 112, the free end ofwhich is bent back upon itself to form a track as shown at 114 toslideably receive the bottom flange 116 of each of the channel members108 and 110. The channel members 108 and 110 may be extended andretracted along the tracks 114 by any suitable mechanisms, such as ahydraulic cylinder (not shown).

The casting mechanism 50 comprises a rectangular frame 120 mounted onthe two channel members 108- and 110 described above. A plurality oftransversely extending rollers 122 (three shown) are mounted on theupper surface of the frame 120 in suitable bearings 124. A shaft 126carrying a pair of spaced beaver tail elements 128 and 130 extendsaxially of the frame 120' and is mounted at one end in a bearing 132 andat the other end by means of a driving mechanism 134. The drivingmechanism 134 is adapted to rotate the shaft 126 in either direction tocast the ties in opposite lateral directions from the frame 120. Thisdrive mechanism 134 may comprise any suitable drive means such as ahydraulic motor or the like.

The casting elements 128 and 130 are formed with specially contouredsurfaces 136 and 138 (see FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) to contact the ties with oneof said faces leading when the shaft 126 is rotated in one direction,and the other said face leading and contacting the ties when the shaftis rotated in the opposite direction. The curvature of these faces ispreferably such that the tie is contacted by the beaver tails 128 and130 and is substantially uniformly accelerated and the required amountof energy applied to the tie to force same off the end of the skids.Thus the beaver tails 128 and 130 are preferably designed to maintaincontact between the surfaces 136 or 138 and the tie from the time thesurface engages the tie until the surface has been rotated to a positionbelow the bottom of the tie. In other words, the beaver tails 128 and130 are designed to impart the required energy to the tie over a periodof time rather than by substantially instantaneous impact. Thedimensions given in FIG. 5 are for a preferred form of beaver taildesigned to handle ties of average dimensions 7 x 8 and wherein the tiesto be handled do not deviate from these dimensions by more than 3" andgenerally less than 2". With the arrangement illustrated it is importantthat the ties be positioned with their axes extending in a verticalplane containing the axis of shaft 126. A slight mispositioning of theties laterally of this plane will not materially affect operation, butthe apparatus will not operate properly if the ties are shifted as muchas 3".

At the end of the frame 120 remote from the infeed conveyor 40 is anabutment plate 140, and mounted behind the plate 140 is a micro-switch(not shown) which activates the beaver tails 128 and 130 through thedriving mechanism 134.

A pair of slides 142 and 144 each composed of tubular telescopingsections 146 and 148 project one from each side of the frame 120. Theslides 142 and 144 are pivotably and slideably mounted on the frame 120in any suitable manner which permits these slides in collapsed positionto be withdrawn through the door of the box car, i.e. the sections 148are telescoped within the sections 146 and the slides are pivoted into aposition wherein the frame 120 and slides 142 and 144 may be withdrawnthrough the door of the box car. In the illustrated embodiment, themounting is accomplished by a substantially U-shaped plate 150 havingone leg of the U welded to the telescoping section 146 and a pin 152 onthe other leg of the U which pin is slideably and pivotably receivedwithin a slot 154 in a plate 156 welded to the frame 120 (see FIG. 3).Any suitable means such as hydraulic cylinders may be used to move theslide sections 146 to and from the collapsed position in which the frame120- may be removed from the car 100 and to hold the slides in operativeposition.

The frame 120 is supported in the car 100 by supporting links 160 (seeFIGS. 1 and 4) releasably connecting the frame 120 within the frame 70of the infeed conveyor. Any suitable coupling between the link 160 andthe frames 120 and 70 may be used, but care must be taken to ensure thatthe links 160* can be easily released and can be retracted to permit thecars to be positioned between the infeed conveyor and the platform 10-1.

The tie loading mechanism of the instant invention is operated asfollows: First, a box car 100 is moved into position between the infeedconveyor 40 and the platform 101. The frame of the casting mechanism 50is then slid into the open door of the car 100 and the links 160' areconnected between the frames 120 and 70 to help support the castingmechanism. In some cases it may be desirable to adjust the height of theplatform 10 1 and the frame 70 before the caster is slid into the car100. When the frame 120 is mounted within the car 100 the slides 142 and144 may be pivoted into operative position and extended as desired.

With the casting mechanism 50 in position as above described and tiesloaded onto the platform 10, the motor 74 is started thereby to drivethe conveyor chains 12, 28, 29 and 42 and the belt 58. Ties 11 are drawnalong the platform 10 to the elevator 20 by the conveyor chains 12 andthese ties are then lifted one at a time by the dogs 38 on the chains 28and 29 forming the elevator 20. The ties pass from the top of theelevator 20 to the turning mechanism 30 where one end of the tie engagesthe stop pin 52 while the other end is conveyed forward by the chain 42thereby turning the tie through 90. As the end of the tie leaves theconveyor chain 42 it slides down the incline formed by the plate 62while the opposite end of the tie slides down the incline plate 64thereby completing the 90 turning of the tie and aligning the tieproperly on the conveyor belt 58.

The conveyor belt 58 axially advances the ties into the car 100. As thetie leaves the conveyor belt 58 the upper surface of the tie is engagedby the upper roller 66 which prevents the leading end of the tie fromfalling down and directs same onto the rollers 122 forming part of thecasting mechanism 50. The tie, free of conveyor 58 and roll 66, advancesby its momentum on rollers 122 and engages the abutment plate whichactuates a microswitch which in turn operates the motor or power means134 which rotates the shaft 126 and beaver tails 128 and 130. The beavertails 128 and 130 engage the tie at spaced locations and accelerate itin a direction transverse to its axis in the manner describedhereinabove thereby casting the tie along slide 142 or 144 depending onwhich way the shaft is rotated to place the ties into the car. As thecar 100 is filled the slide 142 and 144 is telescoped as required andeventually are pivoted to inoperative position. After the car 100 hasbeen filled to the point Where the casting mechanism becomesunnecessary, the links are uncoupled and the frame 120 and castingmechanism 50 are retracted from the car 100 onto the platform 101. Thefilling of the car may then be completed using only the infeed conveyor40.

The present invention may also be used to load gondola cars bypositioning the casting mechanism 50 and the slides, etc. above the topof the car.

An alternative form of retractable slide means has been illustrated inFIG. 6-. In this arrangement the length of each of the retractable arms200, 202 and 204 (similar to, and replacing, the arms 146 and 148 shownin FIGS. 1, 3 and 4) may be extended by pivotably mounting the largersection 200 on pivot means 201, which in turn is hung beneath the frame120 on a rotatable turntable 206 whereby the sections 200, 202 and 204may be turned from a position parallel to the frame 120 to a positionperpendicular to this frame. The turntable 206 is supported from a ringmember 208 by means of suitable roller means 210 (only two shown), andthe member 208 is in turn hung from the frame 120 by suitable posts 212and the cross members 214 (only one shown). A suitable dog or catchmechanism 216 which, in the illustrated arrangement, cooperates with aprojecting rim 218 on the ring 208, functions to hold the arms 200, 202and 204 in one of a plurality of different set positions into which thearms may be moved by pivoting on pivot means 201. Three positions havebeen illustrated, one by solid lines, another by dot lines and a thirdby dot dash lines. In the FIG. 6 arrangement the ties are not supporteddirectly by the sections 200, 202 and 204, but by a pair of spaced apartcables 216 (only one shown) connected to the free ends of the sections204 trained over a pair of spaced pulleys 218, mounted on the frame 120,and wound on winding drums 220 mounted on shaft 222. The winding drums220 are supported below the turntable 206 by suitable bracket means 224.Only one set of sections 200, 202 and 204 have been shown, but obviouslya second set mounted adjacent to the first but projecting in theopposite direciton may also be provided.

In operation the frame 120 is moved into position Within the car, asabove described, with the sections 200, 202 and 204 in telescopeposition and aligned with the direction of movement of the frame 120into the car. Next, the sections 200, 202 and 204 are rotated withturntable 206 to a position perpendicular to the frame 120, and thesections 200, 202 and 204 are extended and pivoted about pivot means 201to their lowermost position. The cables 216 may then be positioned overpulleys 218 and be connected to the free end of sections 204, and thedrums 220 turned by suitable means connected to the shaft 222 to tightenthe cables 216. A plurality of ties are then slid down the cables 216and onto the floor of the car until it becomes necessary to lift thetion (solid line position illustrated), which simply resections 200, 202and 204 to their next higher posiquires releasing the dog 215 andtightening the cables 216 to lift the free ends of sections 204. Asecond plurality of ties are slid along the cables 216 until thesections 200, 202 and 204 require raising again and thereafter thesections 200, 202 and 204 are raised to their highest position whereinthe cables 216 are substantially level and filling of an area of the carwith ties may be completed. (Whether the sections are raised to theirhighest position is determined by the height to which the car is to beloaded.) After that area has been filled, the sections 200, 202 and 204are telescoped by increasing the tension on cables 216 while leaving thesections locked in position by dog 215. With the sections 200, 202 and204 in telescope position more ties are slid along the cables 216 tofill another area of the car. The procedure is carried on until one sideof the car has been filled and then the sectiions 200, 202 and 204 areturned on turntable 206 through 180, extended, and the other end of thecar loaded. To complete the filling, the casting mechanism 50 may thenbe removed from the car and the last few ties loaded directly from theconveyor 40. By following the above procedure the ties automaticallypile into the car in such a manner that they tend to lean against theend of the car.

Modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention. For example, the illustrated arrangernent includes the roll66 to prevent tipping of the ties and this means may, in many cases, bedeleted. Also, the various conveyors have been described as being drivenfrom a single power source, but obviously it is possible, and in somecases preferred, to use individual motors, such as hydraulic motors, todrive one or more of these conveyors.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for loading ties into a vehicle comprising a carriage,extendible slide means projecting laterally from said carriage andterminating in a free end, casting means, said casting means includingan element mounted for rotation on a rotational axis on said carriage,means to rotate said element, said element having a tie engagingsurface, said surface being specifically contoured to contact,substantially uniformly accelerate and cast a tie along said slide meansand off said free end when said element is rotated on said rotationalaxis.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said carriage includesmeans to support a tie and wherein said rotational axis is in a verticalplane substantially in alignment with the axis of a tie on said support,

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said rotational axis isbelow said support.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said casting meanscomprises a pair of said elements spaced on said carriage andinterconnected to act in synchronism to engage, accelerate and cast saidtie along said slide.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said extendible slidemeans is mounted on a turntable slung beneath said carriage and whereinsaid slide means is rotatable with said turntable from a positionsubstantially aligned with the axis of said carriage to a lateralposition substantially perpendicular to said axis of said carriage.

6. An apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said extendible slidemeans is pivotably mounted on said turntable on a pivot means, thepivotable axis of which is substantially perpendicular to the axis ofrotation of said turntable.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said slide means comprisestelescopic arms and spaced cables extending between said carriage andsaid free end, said cables being above said arms and providing thesurface of said slide means along which said ties are slid and means forretractably mounting said cables on said carriage.

8. An apparatus for loading ties onto a vehicle comprising a carriage,means to support said carriage for axial movement to a loading positionrelative to said vehicle and a retracted position clear of said vehicle,a turntable slung beneath said carriage, a pair of spaced telescopingarms pivotably mounted on said turntable on an axis substantiallyperpendicular to the axis of rotation of said turntable, cablesextending from the free ends of said arms to said carriage, means foradjusting the length of said cables as required when said arms are indifferent extended positions, casting means including a pair of spacedelements rotatably mounted on said carriage on a rotational axissubstantially aligned with said axis of said carriage and means torotate said elements, each of said elements having a tie engagingsurface specifically contoured to contact, substantially uniformlyaccelerate and cast a tie presented to said carriage along said cablesand oif the free ends of said arms when said elements are rotated onsaid rotational axis.

9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said rotational axis andthe axis of a tie presented to said carriage before actuation of saidelements are in substantially the same vertical plane.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 9 further comprising means topresent a tie to said carriage, said means to present comprising meansto laterally convey said tie, means to turn said tie through means toaxially ad vance said tie onto said carriage and abutment means on saidcarriage to sense said tie and to actuate said elements and wherein saidcarriage is mounted for movement between a loading and a retractedposition relative to said vehicle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1926 Shipley 214-41 7/1967Bilocq 198-24 US. Cl. X.R.

